


Only Human

by 01shane01



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Beca is kind of an ass, Chloe is kicking ass and taking names, F/F, Never taking any of becas shit, angsty, but not really
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-24
Updated: 2017-06-06
Packaged: 2018-09-19 18:12:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9453710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/01shane01/pseuds/01shane01
Summary: Beca is a music producer. Chloe is her assistant. Not as straightforward as the stereotype might suggest





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovelies! This was born of inspiration and a prompt from an anon.   
> Stick with me through whatever tense changes may happen through this. I've not written third person in years.  
> Also many thanks as per to Kimmy and Patty for helping me out with this

It never occurred to Chloe that there were people in this world that she could dislike.

She had always taken everyone as they had come, enjoyed the company of just about everyone that she had come across in her life. Chloe always chose to see the best in people. Sure, her outlook on life had caused her a lot of pain in the past. She had been taken advantage of by numerous people; significant others and friends alike.

It had only helped her to excel in her professional life however. She was able to walk into a room and while she didn’t command attention like her employer did, she didn’t shrink away from people’s glances. She could hold coherent, confident conversations with strangers who she had nothing in common with. She could take her boss’ orders and allow the biting tone to roll off her shoulders and still have her coffee piping hot at 11am when her boss decided she wanted to roll into work.

However.

Chloe was starting to find that she had limits just like everyone else.

Chloe had worked at Synth Records for the last five years. This meant that she knew her boss better than anybody because from what she could tell, she was the longest standing relationship that Beca Mitchell currently had. She uses the word ‘relationship’ incredibly loosely.

It wasn’t that Beca was a particularly difficult person to work for, she wasn't. But after being on call 24/7 for the last five years, being summoned at stupid times of the weekend because Beca forgot to stock up on painkillers and she was hungover, or she couldn’t find her take out menus, or getting up at 5am every weekday when the boss rarely shows up before noon, Chloe is finding that her patience is wearing very, very thin.

She learnt very early on that Beca likes to blame the world for everything that goes wrong. Chloe, in her tight-knit group of trusted friends, refers to her as a ‘Big Baby’. She feels terrible every time, but Chloe very nearly dislikes this woman.

But she still tries because that’s just how she was raised to be.

It's not that the boss doesn’t take her work seriously, because she does. It just seems that she hates every aspect of her life that isn’t her time sat in front of a soundboard with headphones over her ears to block out the rest of the world.

_ Something made her this way, something must have happened to her.  _ Chloe thinks to herself quite often.

So today, when Beca turns up at the studio at 1pm in her usual mood, Chloe rolls her eyes as she hands over a warm coffee to an outstretched hand. The only difference is that today the body attached to the hand pauses.

Chloe looks up and is met with an amused smirk and blue eyes peering at her over the top of sunglasses.

“Beale,” she starts, her tone holding a condescending lilt to it, “did you just roll your eyes at me?” Beca laughs like she can’t believe that her assistant could show any kind of personality because really up until this point, all she has done is kiss Beca’s ass, no matter what.

“If I did, then I didn’t mean to.” Chloe says in way of an apology.

Beca hums in response, slipping her sunglasses back up her nose, and carries on into her office. The door slams shut and Chloe doesn’t even flinch at the sound anymore.

\---- ooo ----

In her office, Beca takes a sip of her coffee. She loves that her assistant always seems to have a warm cup for her. She really has no idea how the woman does it. She never gives Chloe any warning as to when she will actually come to the office.

She sits down in front of her computer and checks her emails, seeing that her latest email landed in her inbox all of 45seconds ago from her assistant. Her agenda for the day. She opens it, scans over the meetings and recording sessions and sighs.

She presses the buzzer on the phone and Chloe enters her office a few seconds later with a small notepad and a pair of glasses perched on the edge of her nose that she only started wearing about six months ago. Not that she noticed. She didn’t. You can ask her friends. She doesn’t notice things like that about people.

That might be why she doesn’t _ have _ friends. And the few she has never seem to stick around very long now.

Ever since she got famous.

She sighs and Chloe clears her throat, still waiting to see what her boss wanted from her.

“Why do I have such an unbalanced work day today, Beale?” She asks, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She has a headache coming already.

“Because, Beca, you came to work today at 12:50pm and you have meetings that you have been putting off all month that you need to tend to sooner rather than later,” Chloe tells her and Beca has to admit that she’s kind of surprised at the attitude. While Chloe will usually tell her what needs to be done and when, she has never been sarcastic towards Beca before. It startles her.

“And you pick today, of all days, to grow a backbone.” Beca looks up at her and Chloe’s cheeks have flushed pink. Her chest is rising and falling slightly quicker than usual so she is either nervous, or getting sick. “And where are my hours in the studio?”

“Again, you were late, and you have meetings that need your attention more than the studio does. You’re ahead on all of your projects so you have no need to be here until 3am. Again.” Chloe says to her notepad, scribbling as if she has just remembered the most important thing that she has to write down at this very moment.

“I do not pay you to look after me, Beale,” Beca snaps. She hates being told what to do. “I pay you to make my life easier and this bullshit,” Beca gestures at the computer screen where the email is still mocking her, “is not making my life easier at all. This causes me more stress and fucking stupidity.” She waits a beat to see if Chloe, in her new found  _ mood _ , is going to talk back or roll her eyes or something, but disappointingly, she doesn’t. “Fix it.” Beca grits out and Chloe knows she has been dismissed. She storms out of the office and Beca watches her leave with the same amused smirk.

_ Well,  _ Beca thinks,  _ it’s only taken five years and two months to get some kind of reaction out of her. Maybe there’s a point in keeping her around after all.  _ Not that she’s counting. She isn’t. She doesn’t care.

Beca picks up her coffee cup, throws her bag back over her head, and makes her way to her first insufferable meeting of the day.

\--- ooo ---

It’s nearing 11pm and Chloe is starting to fall asleep at her desk, like she does almost every other night. She knows that it’s doing nothing for the constant ache she has in her back, nor her reluctance to get up in merely six hours. She groans as she checks the time one more time.

Down the hall, she can see the light still on in the end recording studio. It’s the one with the newer gadgets and gizmos that Chloe barely understands. She just knows that even Beca won’t walk in there with any kind of consumable item and that the boss personally polishes up the equipment on a Monday night before she leaves. Mostly due to an argument with the janitor, but also because Chloe knows that Beca is more precious about that room than she is her own life.

Chloe also knows that under the terms of her contract, she should have left at least two hours ago. Her conscience however, won’t let her leave until Beca does. But she also knows that Beca won’t be leaving that room for the next few hours.

Reluctantly, she gathers up her things and makes the walk down the hall. She hears music faintly playing through the door. Chloe knows without even opening the door that the music is coming through Beca’s headphones and she wonders, not for the first time, how the woman can still hear anything. 

 

Chloe pushes the door open and sees Beca hunched over, her head in her hands. The lights are almost as dim as they will go and Beca's body is shaking with the beat so Chloe assumes she's tapping her foot. This isn't rare at all. In fact, it would be fair to say that it is a rare occurance that this doesn't happen. 

 

The assistant calls out to try and get her boss’ attention, knowing that it is ultimately futile considering the volume of music currently pumping into the other woman’s ears. She reaches out and touches Beca’s shoulder, making her jump in surprise and whip her head around towards the intruder. After a moment of panic, her eyes return to a normal size and Chloe tries not to look smug, as if scaring her tormentor was some kind of victory. 

 

“That time already, Beale?” Beca pulls the headphones down around her neck, not bothering to pause or quite the sound. 

 

“It is. You should head out too.” Chloe suggests.

 

“Not yet.” She says, turning back to her screens. “Was that all?” 

 

Chloe sighs and wonders why she even bothers sometimes. “Sure.” 

 

Later that night, when Chloe is staring up at her ceiling trying to fall asleep, she wonders if tomorrow will be the day she finally hands in the letter of resignation that she has had in her purse for the last four months.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe has had enough

Once she left college, Beca thought that her life would finally begin.

Sadly, however, Beca was disappointed.

She was picked up pretty quickly by a record label and things snowballed from there. After a few short years, Beca was offered her own label with a couple of silent financial backers and she really couldn’t believe her luck. She had worked so damn hard to finally be where she wanted to be. The fame was a small side effect that she never really cared for. Money was nice, that she cared for.

But it wasn’t her career that disappointed her.

Beca thought she didn’t care that she had always been kind of a loner. She actively pushed people away so that she could focus on her music and that worked out super well while she was in high school, and then in college. But now, she longed for real friends. People that actually wanted to spend time with her for  _ her _ , not just so that they could possibly get their faces in some tabloid or meet some other celebrities.

It took a long time for Beca to admit to herself that she was lonely. It hit her hard that her assistant cared more about her than anyone in her life, and even then, that was only because she was paid to make sure Beca’s life ran seamlessly.

It’s part of the reason that Beca enjoys trying to get a rise out of the redhead so badly. Lately Chloe’s temper had been simmering right behind her eyes, lighting something in them that Beca finds it hard not to stare at. She doesn’t though. That would be totally unprofessional, not to mention a massive stereotype. A boss, sleeping with her assistant. Like that’s new.

_ Woah! No one said anything about sleeping with the girl! _ Although Beca is a person with eyes. She appreciates the female form.  _ And she  _ does _ have a nice form... _ but that’s beside the point.

So when Beca gets to the office that morning and she finds her assistant the same way she has every day for the last five years and two months, stood waiting for her with a hot coffee, Beca groans.

“Good morning, Beca. You’re early today.” Chloe greets her with a smile as she hands over the coffee.

“Cut the attitude, Beale.” Beca snaps, snatching the drink and slamming the door to her office. She misses the look of anger that flashes across Chloe’s face.

The assistant returns to her seat behind her desk, and angrily bangs on her keyboard to send Beca her daily schedule. Chloe picks up her purse, pulls out an envelope and looks at it for a few minutes. Irritation courses through her body and she tries to take a few deep calming breaths. Her mother had always told her not to make decisions based on anger.

Eventually, Chloe calms and slumps in her chair.

_ She probably just woke up on the wrong side of whatever floozy she had in her bed last night. _ Chloe spits in her mind.

“I had back to back meetings yesterday, Beale, do you fucking hate me or something? Two days running!” Chloe turns and sees her boss’ head sticking out of her door.

“Three of those meetings are with big clients.” Chloe reminds her, trying her best to keep calm.

“We don’t need any more clients.” Beca goes back into her office and leaves the door slightly ajar. Chloe assumes she is supposed to follow.

“You told me that clients were a priority, and I know how much you have wanted to land the Katy Perry comeback album.” She glares at you, hands on her desk as she leans over it.

“What the hell makes you think that you know anything about me?” Beca lashes out. Chloe just blinks and looks over Beca’s shoulder to the signed  _ ‘Teenage Dream’ _ poster that is framed behind her. The woman turns and when she looks back at Chloe, Beca at least has the decency to look embarrassed.

“You might want to take that down in time for your meeting.” Chloe throws over her shoulder, leaving her boss opening and closing her mouth. She smirks, placing the envelope back into her bag.  _ Small victories. _ She thinks to herself. 

 

But Beca’s attitude doesn't improve all week. Chloe even manages to arrange almost an entire day in a recording studio for her boss. She tries to put it down to stress. But like Beca so kindly informed her at the start of the week, the label doesn't need anymore clients. Sure, they wouldn't turn them away, especially not big names, but they are in no worries about going under. 

 

All week, the woman has been snapping and increasingly demanding. Chloe’s patience is wearing thin, and every night she has gone to bed positive that she would quit tomorrow. But tomorrow comes, and she can never summon the courage to do it. She's not even looked for another job yet. 

 

So when she leaves the office at 5pm on Friday and only gets a grunt from Beca, she isn't surprised. Chloe reminds her of the event that she has to attend that night and asks if she would like her to join her, as usual, and continues on her way. It's not often that Beca requires her presence. That's mostly for the bigger events, not the social ones. But Chloe asks anyway because that's just what she does. That's what, she thinks, makes her such a great assistant.

 

\---ooo---

 

“I just don't get it, Bree. I do absolutely everything that I can think of for that woman and it's never good enough.” Chloe sighs, rubbing her forehead with one hand, her half empty glass of wine in the other. 

 

“ _ Why don't you just quit already? _ ” Aubrey says softly from the computer screen, a glass of wine in the frame too. 

 

“I can't.” Chloe lets her head fall back against the couch. It has been far too long since she sat and talked to her friend.

 

“ _ Why not? She's making you miserable and if this were an actual relationship, which is how you talk about this whole situation sometimes, I hope you realise that; then you would have broken up with her already _ .” The slightly tinny and forever honest voice tells her. 

 

Chloe takes a slip from her glass, savouring the heady taste that washes over her tongue. 

 

“She's so lost, Bree. I can see it sometimes. She needs someone to take care of her.” Reluctantly, Chloe looks at her friend. She sees her mouth agape and a slightly outraged look on the blonde’s face. 

 

“ _ She doesn't pay you to take care of her, Chloe. She pays you to sort out her working life. _ ” Aubrey chastises. “ _ You know full well that come tomorrow morning, you're going to have a text begging you to go sort her hangover out because she cannot be bothered to buy her own aspirin _ .” 

 

There's a few moments of silence where Chloe knows that Aubrey is completely right, but she doesn't want to admit it. No, that's a lie. She's already admitted it, she's just never faced up to it. She has a soft spot for her boss, no matter how much Beca grates on her lately. It wasn't a bad job to start off with. Beca used to be an absolute dream to work for. A tiny part of Chloe hopes that things will go back to how they were one day. Part of Chloe blames herself for making things too easy for Beca.

 

“ _ So what's up, Chlo? What's the real reason? _ ” Aubrey coaxes gently. 

 

“I don't want to let her down.” Chloe admits after finishing her glass. 

 

“ _ Sweetie, just because you didn't graduate college the first time round, doesn't mean that quitting your job will be another failure. _ ”

 

“That isn't what this is about.” Chloe tries to defend herself. 

 

“ _ It is and you know it. You and I both know that you never  _ really _ got over that fight you had with your mom. _ ” Chloe deflates. Aubrey is right. She's always right. “ _ You've been doing a damn good job working for her for the last five years, Chlo. Maybe it's time to move on to something you really want to be doing. _ ”

 

Chloe’s phone starts ringing beside her, cutting off her response. She looks at the caller ID and rolls her eyes. “Speak of the devil.” Chloe holds her phone up to show Aubrey. 

 

“ _ Busy the bitch! It's 3am! _ ” 

 

“Exactly, it's 3am. What if it's important?” Chloe rationalises and answers the call as Aubrey ‘boo’s’ her. “Hello?” 

 

“Beale!” The producer shouts down the phone. Chloe has to hold the device away from her face for a moment. 

 

“What do you need, Beca?” 

 

“I... need a favour.” The woman announces proudly, struggling not to slur her words. Chloe can hear the sounds of a crowd and the thumping of a bassline coming from around her boss. 

 

“And I'm about to go to bed. What is it?” Chloe’s patience is wearing thin and she's trying to ignore the gestures Aubrey is making on the screen in front of her. She smirks and looks away. 

 

“A ride.” Beca giggles down the line. 

 

“There are taxis for that. And your car service.” Chloe reminds her slowly so that hopefully Beca's drunk brain will comprehend it. 

 

“Yes. But, I like your car better.”

 

“You've never even seen my car.” Chloe tells her, causing Aubrey to mouth the word ‘ _ backbone _ ’ and to give her a thumbs up. 

 

“Please?” Beca lowers her voice so that Chloe can barely hear her over the background noise and something tugs at her chest.

 

“Fine. Where are you?” Chloe relents, much to Aubrey's disgust. Beca gives her the details and hangs up. “Just don't ok.” 

 

“ _ She's got you wrapped around her little finger and as long as she knows that, she's just going to keep doing this. _ ” Aubrey shouts as Chloe gathers her coat, keys, and shoes. 

 

“I've got to go. Love you!” Chloe blows a kiss and hangs up the call. 

 

Twenty minutes later, she pulls up outside the club. There are people and paparazzi everywhere but Chloe spots Beca leaning against a wall. She honks her horn and gets a bunch of dirty looks, but Beca looks up and grins when she spots Chloe. Beca staggers over to the car and opens the rear door.

 

“Thanks for coming to get us, Beale.” Chloe frowns. She hadn't even noticed the person basically attached to Beca’s hip. 

 

“Whatever. Let's just go.” The assistant frowns as the pair fall into her car. “And nothing inappropriate on my upholstery. 

 

“I'll pay to clean it. Loosen up.” Chloe grits her teeth when her boss’ attention turns towards the strawberry blonde next to her. 

 

\---ooo---

 

Beca wakes up with a mess of hair in her face. She freezes. The last thing she can remember is her assistant pulling up at the curb in front of whatever club she ended up at last night. Chloe can't have stayed. Beca was sure she was going to hook up with some bimbo. 

 

The mystery girl sighs and rolls over and Beca could cry with relief. Usually having a stranger in one's house would be alarming, but Beca is used to this kind of thing happening. It's how she has come to deal with her crappy, lonely existence. For a few hours, she gets to feel like she's wanted. Like someone actually wants to be around her. Even though the girl will wake up in a couple of hours, they'll have breakfast, and Beca will call her a cab and they won't see each other again. 

 

But just as Beca is beginning to think that she will escape a hangover today, it hits her full force. Her head is pounding and her mouth feels like someone spent the whole night using it as an ashtray. She briefly wonders why she keeps doing this to herself, but then she doesn't want to wander down that rabbit hole today. Or any day really. 

 

It occurs to Beca that she needs to take some meds and get some fluid inside her, or when this poor girl wakes up, Beca is not going to be the slightest bit friendly. She looks in the bedside cabinet and curses internally when her search comes up blank. Beca taps around to find her phone, pleased she had the presence of mind last night to plug it in.

 

She squints at the screen, trying to navigate her way to the messaging system. In her hungover state, it's a much more challenging task then it usually should be, so much so that Beca almost cries out in joy when she reaches her assistant’s blurry name.

 

**_I'm dying Beale._ ** She types, sends, and hopes to get a speedy response. Beca never really has to wait longer than ten minutes for Chloe to get back to her in the mornings. Either she's an early riser or far too eager to please. 

 

_ Really not surprised. Go back to sleep. _

 

**_Can't. Come take care of me?_ ** Beca realises she was pouting as she typed her message and quickly shakes it off. The girl beside her stirs a little and Beca holds her breath, hoping she will go back to sleep because she does  _ not _ want to deal with that just yet. 

 

It takes a while for Chloe to reply, long enough for Beca to start worrying. 

 

**_Beale?_ **

 

_ Do you have any breakfast foods in your fridge? _

 

**_Doubt it._ **

 

_ Look? _

 

Beca waits a few minutes, not budging out of bed at all, before texting Chloe back, telling her that her fridge is bare. In reality, Beca doesn't have a clue what is in her fridge. She just knows that she hasn't even opened it in like a week… which she should probably do. 

 

_ I'll be there in about an hour.  _ Beca smiles triumphantly and snuggles back down into her pillows. 

 

She doesn't realise that she's fallen asleep until she hears a door closing and someone calling out her name. 

 

“If I come in there and you're naked, again, I swear.” Whatever Chloe was going to say is cut off as the door opens and Beca pulls the covers up her chest. 

 

“Is it technically naked if I'm wearing a sheet?” Chloe storms off and Beca knows that this time her bed friend has woken up. She scrambles up, pulling on whatever clothes she can grab as she goes. Sweats and a shirt she knows isn't hers because she doesn't wear the kind of perfume that's clinging to it. 

 

Beca gets to her kitchen just as Chloe gets to her fridge. She pulls open the door and they're hit with a smell worse than Beca can remember smelling in her entire life. 

 

“Are you kidding me right now, Beca?” Chloe shouts. The fire in her eyes is back and Beca is equal parts scared and happy. And another emotion, but she won't let herself go there. “Everything in here is off!” She pulls out a carton of milk that has barely been used, a block of cheese that Beca didn't even know she had, and some stuff in packets which Beca thinks might have been meat at one point. “Why do I even bother? This is all crap I brought you last weekend.” 

 

“Ok, but can we bring the sound level down?” Beca groans, taking a seat at her breakfast bar, trying not to vomit at the smell. “Someone usually sorts that shit out for me.” 

 

“Yeah, me! And you know what, Beca. I'm sick of it. I'm not doing this anymore.” Chloe yells, shoving more rotten food on the counter, just as the girl with no name comes down the hall. 

 

“Can you like chill? Some of us are sick.” The girl drawls in the most annoying accent Chloe has heard all month. 

 

“Yep, I'm done. Don't expect to see me in the office on Monday or any day after that. I respect myself far too much to put up with your crap.” At this, Beca lifts her head up and frowns at Chloe, watching as she grabs her purse and keys from amongst the bags of groceries she bought for Beca.

 

“Wait, you're not serious?” Beca snorts, which she realises pretty soon after was a mistake because Chloe rounds on her and stabs a finger at her chest. 

 

“Of course I'm fucking serious. You've treated me like crap, you're rude, and a massive baby. You do  _ not _ pay me enough to deal with you and even if you did, I have had it up to here!” Chloe gestures wildly at her head and Beca has to hold back a joke about her height, quickly realising that Chloe is actually taller than she is. 

 

She watches wordlessly as Chloe storms out of her house. 

 

Out of her life. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come talk to me on Tumblr about what you'd like to see from this


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca cant seem to do this whole 'life' thing without Chloe

**_Chlo:_ ** I finally did it Bree!

**_BreeBree:_ ** _ I’m so proud of you. How do you feel? _

 

**_Chlo:_ ** Like I just made the best decision of my life.

 

\--- ooo --- 

 

Beca was having the worst time of her life. 

 

It had been a week. A week of turning up at the office to no coffee, no schedule, and no clue about what meetings were even in the pipeline. She had people turning up randomly to talk to her because apparently they were on the book and Beca was in no way prepared. She hadn't managed to get herself any time in the production studio, and it was really starting to get her down. The rest of the team had even less of an idea of what they were doing as well, even though most had their own assistants. 

 

Come the end of the week, Beca was starting to get a sneaky feeling that Chloe Beale did more for her than she ever could have realised. 

 

But instead of sitting around and feeling sorry for herself, (which she totally did for the first four days), Beca decided to take matters into her own hands and take back control of Synth Records.

 

\--- ooo ---

 

The next Friday, Beca has found that taking control of the company was not as easy as she thought it would be. 

 

She had been to a different coffee shop every morning and none of them could get her order right. It wasn't that she was fussy, they just never tasted as good as the ones that Chloe handed over to her. She had even been back most lunch times and adjusted her order slightly, but to no avail. Beca was starting to miss her perfect coffees, and it was making her grouchier than usual. If people had noticed, they hadn't said anything. 

 

_ They probably didn't dare. _ Beca thought glumly to herself as she slumped face first into her desk late on Friday evening. 

 

Her phone also rang a lot, she noticed. Like, it seemed to never stop ringing. Most of the time, Beca ended up ignoring it because on Tuesday she had tried to put someone on hold and royally messed up, losing herself a couple of potential meetings. It didn't help at all that Beca couldn't figure out how to use the stupid thing on the computer that told her what to do and when. Chloe always made it send an alert to her phone whenever she had to do something or be somewhere. On top of everything, no matter how busy they were, the assistant had always managed to get Beca at least an hour a day where she could do whatever she wanted. They both knew that she would wind up in the studio, but the option was there. 

 

It frustrated Beca to no end that she could work out a sound board with hundreds of dials and buttons that most would be too scared to touch, but a computer, beyond her mixing programme, baffled her. 

 

Things haven't only been a mess inside of her office though. It seems that not one other member of staff was working as fluidly as they had done before. Beca was unsure as to whether this was due to the fact that their boss was slowly spiraling into failure and they had no real guidance, or because Chloe really had that much impact. 

 

That night is not the first that Beca picks up her phone and types a message out to her former assistant. 

 

**_Please come back, I need you..._ **

 

But she  _ always  _ deletes it because Beca's pride and stubbornness has always been something to contend with. 

 

It really hit Beca when she woke up next to the third redhead in three weeks on Saturday morning. Her head pounded with her hangover and like usual, she was out of pills because for some stupid reason, Beca is incapable of taking care of herself. She reached out for her phone like she did every weekend and just as she was about to find her assistant’s name, Beca remembered reality and it kicked her square in the chest. So much so that she's pretty sure she actually gasped. 

 

For the last two weeks, Beca had been ignoring the growing pain that clenched around her heart every time that she remembered Chloe had left her.

 

_ She resigned. She didn't leave you. Well she did. But not in a relationship kind of way.  _ Beca keeps telling herself but it doesn't make the pain go away. It doesn't make her feel any better. The pain keeps getting worse as she notices all the ways that her life feels even more empty without Chloe in it. 

 

With a grunt, Beca gets up, intent on making breakfast. The light is offending her and every step feels like her legs are made of lead but eventually she makes it to the kitchen. As soon as Beca opens the fridge door however, the smell that greets her makes her stomach roll over. She slams it shut, cursing herself for the nth time in two weeks as she retches, fighting against her hangover.

 

Beca never spends time in her house. She always eats out, and on the rare occasion that she does eat at home, it's ordered in or picked up on her way home. Beca literally has no reason to ever open her fridge door.

 

Chloe knew this. Chloe knew almost everything about Beca's self destructive habits.

 

So Beca finds herself getting angry, because why the fuck has she gone to her fridge only to find it’s contents gone off twice in as many weeks when she would have thought that Chloe had enough foresight not to stock the damn thing up.

 

Before she knows it, Beca has tears streaming down her face and her knees hugged to her chest in the corner of her kitchen floor. She refuses to sob, she just let the tears fall with occasional shuddering breaths as she shut everything out, one thing at a time, so that she could figure this mess out. Beca vaguely remembers hearing the girl from her bed trying to get her attention and subsequently leaving when she didn't get it. Beca didn't care. She wasn't even sure that she was in her body right now. 

 

It was like she was watching herself cowering in the corner like some lost little child that cries when their parents argue. Beca wanted to scream at herself to get up, grow up, and take the world head on like she had planned back in college. 

 

_ Who cares if you're a little more lonely now than you were a month ago. You've had no one before and it looks like you have no one again. It's your own fault. You're the one that pushed her so hard. You're the one that couldn't be satisfied to have someone there. You had to try and break her somehow. You regret it. You miss her. She brightened up your day, cool, great. Take a second and move the fuck on, Beca. You're better than this. Crying on the floor over some girl. Chloe would laugh at you right now.  _

 

It takes over an hour for her to stop her tears and when she does, Beca has a new plan for the week ahead. 

 

She will hire a new assistant and begin to put the last five years, two months, and three weeks behind her. 

 

\--- ooo --- 

 

For the last three weeks, Chloe Beale has been enjoying the unemployed lifestyle. She goes wherever she wants, whenever she wants, and doesn't have to think about getting up in the morning, being fit to drive at all times of day. And best of all, Chloe doesn't have to think about Beca Mitchell. 

 

Except. 

 

The last part hasn't really been going to plan. But Chloe tried her best to push anything like that out of her mind as quickly as it came. 

 

It's the main reason why she has chosen to relax with a bottle of wine on Friday night. She's on her second glass and she must admit that it is going down pretty damn well. Chloe had finally decided to add a little more furniture to her apartment, but most of it lay in flat-pack boxes near her front door. She never really had much need for it while she was working for Beca. Chloe was hardly at home, always out running around after her boss.

 

So that was her plan for tonight.

 

Chloe sat, looking at the instructions for her new coffee table, a couple of parts around her while some were still in the box. She frowned, realising that she couldn't possibly figure this out. Maybe Chloe would invite Aubrey out for a week and get her best friend to help her out. That's what friends were for, after all. 

 

Chloe reaches out for her phone, ignoring the fact that she's preparing herself for the disappointment that will come when she finds that Beca hasn't tried to contact her yet again. It's not like she  _ wants _ to hear from Beca. But Chloe would like to feel that she was missed. That she made such an impression on someone’s life at Synth Records that they noticed that she wasn't there anymore. 

 

So when Chloe picks up her phone and notices that she has five missed calls from Beca Mitchell, her heart stutters a little. Chloe’s first instinct is to panic. But then she reminds herself that whatever the problem is, Beca probably just got drunk and dialed her accidently. 

 

An hour later, when Chloe has agreed to a day with Aubrey to sort her pile of IKEA out, there's a knock at the door which almost makes Chloe spill her wine. She had barely touched it since she missed the calls from Beca.

 

Chloe checks the time. 2:11am. 

 

_ Who the heck? _ She wonders as she pulls her hoodie on over her tank top and walks down the hall. 

 

Whoever it is knocks again, more impatiently this time. 

 

Chloe looks through the peephole, expecting to see some hooded figure brandishing a gun or a knife or something. Instead, she sees none other than Beca Mitchell; one hand on the doorframe supporting most of her weight, squinting against the porch light. 

 

Anger boils in Chloe's chest as she reaches to open the door. 

 

“What the  _ hell _ do you want?” Chloe offers as way of greeting. 

 

“I came to say hey.” Beca grins, and while she doesn't slur her words, Chloe can still smell the alcohol on Beca's breath. 

 

“I stopped having to deal with your drunk ass weeks ago, Beca.” Chloe spits, but it lacks real conviction. When it doesn't look like Beca is going to say anything, Chloe goes to shut the door but Beca stops the door about halfway. 

 

“Wait… I know, I just,” Beca stumbles over her words and Chloe wonders how much it has to do with the alcohol and how much is genuinely her former boss not knowing what to say for once. “I don't want to talk about this on your doorstep. Can I come in or like, can we go for coffee or something?” Beca's face lights up with what Chloe thinks is hope. 

 

“It's 2.30am.” Chloe deadpans, refusing to acknowledge the pain in her chest and the lump in her throat when Beca's expression cracks from one of optimism into… something else. 

 

“Look, I need you to come back and work out your notice.” Beca spills out, as if it's some kind of band aid she has to just rip off. 

 

“That's really what you've come to ask me?”

 

“Well you weren't answering your phone and I was worried.” Beca shrugs, and Chloe thinks that she looks so young right now. Not the big famous producer that is in a foul mood most of the time, but the 28 year old woman who really had no one. Something tugs inside Chloe’s chest and she's not sure she likes it. “Look, I have hired someone new, and she's just making things worse. I just need you to come and show her the ropes. I have no idea what you used to do for me.” Beca sighs, rubbing her forehead and swaying a little. “I will pay you twice what your usual salary was, and extra at the end of it.” 

 

“No. I told you, I'm done with running around after you.” Chloe told her old boss, leaning against the opposite side of the frame that Beca was using as support. The money was pretty tempting, though. Chloe wasn't struggling, but it would be nice. “Plus, I'm planning a vacation.”

 

“You deserve one. I know I wasn't easy to work for.” Beca said to her feet. 

 

“You were for the first four years, but then something changed.” Chloe realised that this was probably the most civilised conversation that she had had with Beca in the last year and a half. 

 

“About that-,” The producer looked like she was going to continue her thought, but thought better of it, “How about this? I will pay for your holiday, on top of what I just said. Go wherever you want for as long as you want. Give the invoice for it. Take whoever you want.” 

 

“It must be pretty important to you that I come back.” Chloe raised her eyebrow and Beca laughed humorlessly.

 

“If you don't come back, the place will fall apart.”

 

“I'll think about it.” Chloe smiled, standing straight again. “Goodnight, Beca.” 

 

As Chloe closed the door, she was adamant that she would  _ not _ step foot into that office again. She was done with that part of her life. 

 

However, Beca seemed so lost and so broken. She couldn't morally leave the woman so lost, could she? Either way, if Chloe did go back, she would not be doing it for Beca. She would be doing it for a free holiday. 

 

_ What's another month when I have my dream holiday to look forward to? And being around Beca again wouldn't exactly be the worst thing ever.  _

 

But she was totally, one hundred percent  _ NOT _ going to do it for Beca. 

 

Nope.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have another half chapter written (that Im hoping to finish this week) but updates to this will start slowing down now. Im aiming for once a week or every other week. If I miss that, please feel free to bug me about it.   
> Thank you for such an amazing response to this so far. I love everyone who has taken time out to tell me what they think, and left kudos and subscribed :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Chloe goes back to work

On Monday morning, Chloe makes a conscious effort not to go into work early. She refused to get there long before Beca, but she felt worse with every minute that passed. For the last five years, she had prided herself on always being prompt and organised. 

 

Chloe managed to hold off until 10am. 

 

_ That'll show Beca that you are definitely  _ not _ doing this for her.  _ Chloe thought as she pushed open the door to the office. 

 

When she walks in, Chloe is hit by the rush of chaos around her. Few people seem to actually know what they are doing, her old co-workers look ten times more stressed than the last time she saw them, and there is a girl with long brown hair sat at her old desk with wide eyes. 

 

What gets Chloe the most however, is Beca Mitchell charging out of her office towards her with a look on her face that Chloe really can't place. It kind of looks like anger mixed with heaps of stress and maybe relief?

 

_ Not that you care. _

 

“Beale, you're here! You came!” Beca almost yells as a smile breaks out over her features when she notices that Chloe is holding two cups. “Is one of those for me?” 

 

“It is. Fresh from the shop.” Chloe hands over the coffee, trying to shake herself out of her daze. Beca is  _ never _ in the office this early. 

 

“Fantastic, I could not for the life of me find the place that you go to.” Without wasting any more time, Beca brings the cup to her lips, taking a sip. She moans in possibly the dirtiest way Chloe has ever heard outside of the bedroom and she feels her cheeks heating up a little when Beca opens her eyes and looks at her. “It's like heaven in a cup, I swear. I could kiss you.”

 

Chloe doesn't quite know what to say, just that she can't seem to make her mouth form words, nor can she convince her cheeks and ears to stop growing warmer. Thankfully though, Beca has already turned from Chloe and is walking towards her old desk. 

 

“This is the new you. Emily Junk, meet Chloe Beale. Learn everything you can from her. You're a sponge for the next few weeks. Stick to her like glue and if I see you away from her without written consent, then so help me god.” Beca tells the quivering girl abruptly before turning back to Chloe. “Work your magic, Beale.” She winks and heads back into her office, throwing, ‘You've got big shoes to fill, Legacy,’ back over her shoulder.

 

Chloe finally releases the breath she hadn't realised she was holding in and turned her full attention to the new girl, who was sporting a completely bewildered look. 

 

“Who’s Legacy?” She asks when Chloe approaches. 

 

“It seems you are. Hi,” Chloe introduces herself again and starts by getting Emily to show her what she usually does to start the day. When the girl has run her through her morning routine, Chloe starts making amendments, telling Emily what Beca likes done, how she likes it done, and what will happen if it's not right. Chloe notices fresh flowers sat on the edge of the desk and smiles at Emily’s attempt to brighten up the space, but noting that they look totally out of place in the straight edged, silver and blue office. 

 

Chloe also wonders how much Beca had told people about her departure from the company. There were so many people coming up to her and telling her how glad they were that she was back, asking her if she had enjoyed her vacation. The ex assistant smiles and nods politely through the conversations, finding it a little bit awkward. She would have to remember to ask Beca about what she wants them to know.

 

\--- ooo ---

 

Chloe spends most of the morning showing Emily the ropes. She wonders why she hadn't been shown sooner. Surely there was someone she could have learned from? As Chloe is going through a standard day at Synth Records, she starts noticing just how messed up things were within the company, and it suddenly makes sense as to why Beca seemed so broken when she turned up at her door, completely uninvited, the other night. 

 

_ So it's obviously not you she wanted back. Just order. _ Chloe thinks, feeling her heart sink a little. She tries not to get disheartened by the thought. 

 

Because she doesn't care. 

 

Chloe decides that she has to investigate exactly what has been happening while she has been away. It seemed that the best way to do this could be through the incredibly chipper and friendly replacement assistant. 

 

When they get a second to slow down, they head to the break room for coffee. Chloe lets the younger girl fall into some kind of comfort in the quietness of the small room before joining her at the table and beginning her interrogation. 

 

“So, Em, can I call you ‘Em’?” She checks politely, and the girl nods with a tired smile. “So, Em, what exactly has been going on around here?” Chloe asks softly, not wanting to scare the girl just yet. She would save the big guns for later. 

 

“Well it's been crazy ever since I got here a week ago. Today is actually the best day that we have had since then. But can I ask you something?” Emily leans forwards and lowers her voice, like what she is about to ask is super top secret. Maybe it is. 

 

“Sure, you can ask me anything.” 

 

“Has Ms. Mitchell always been this moody? I mean, she is just plain mean sometimes.” Emily’s eyes go wide and fill with emotion and Chloe feels sorry for this girl because she didn't ask for this. She's just been caught up in the middle of something. 

 

“Honestly, she was a dream to work with when I started here,” Chloe shares. “She hardly ever shouted, and if she did, it was only because of her own stress. There would always be a box of cookies or doughnuts or something afterwards though as her way of saying sorry. But as the years went by, the light kind of went out more and more and she became this.” 

 

“Oh.” Emily hangs her head in hopelessness. “Do you think we’ll ever see that version of her again?”

 

“Well, maybe you can make a difference by not referring to her as ‘Ms. Mitchell’. That was her mother and she's incredibly sensitive about her family. But what else has been happening? Other than Beca’s moods and the office being in shambles.” Chloe prompts. 

 

“We have lost a few major clients. From what I heard, we were supposed to sign Katy Perry, but I don't know what happened there. It fell through or something. It's just what I've heard through the grapevine.” Emily played with the rim of her mug. “I guess she doesn't like losing out.” 

 

“Katy Perry was a huge deal for her.” Chloe ran her fingers through her hair, remembering how excited Beca had gotten over the opportunity. “Losing deals to Beca is like an insult.  One which she takes very personally.” Chloe explains. “Don't worry though, I will try and get things back on track as much as possible while I'm here, and by the time I leave, you will be well equipped to deal with any and everything.” 

 

“I hope you're right. One more question?” Emily asks, her tone more sure of herself, and Chloe is glad to see that she is livening up a little bit more compared to this morning. “Where did the Legacy thing come from?”

 

“It's just a thing Beca does to distance herself from people. I don't know where it came from, but there will be a reason behind it.” Chloe explains to the new girl, surprising herself with her knowledge of their boss. She hadn't realised that she knew Beca quite as deeply as she does.

 

“What’s yours?” 

 

“Just my last name, ‘Beale’.” Chloe shrugs, draining her coffee. 

 

“Why?” Emily cocks her head to the side, trying to figure out the reasoning. Chloe smirks fondly at the memory.

 

“Because she thinks it still pisses me off.” Chloe put her cup in the sink and walked out the room, Emily scrambling behind her to keep up. 

 

\--- ooo ---

 

Later on, Chloe is going through the ins and outs of Beca's scheduling preferences, when they get buzzed into the woman’s office. Emily tenses immediately, and Chloe kind of feels sorry for the girl.

 

“You rang?” Chloe greets, walking into the office with a notepad open in one hand, and a pen in the other. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Emily stood with a notepad too. Chloe was glad the girl was learning. It wasn't that she was particularly bad at the job, Chloe had realised, rather that no one had told her what was expected of her.

 

“Yes, I need the numbers for the Johnson meeting so that I can prepare my pitch.” Beca informs them, her tone telling Chloe she is bored senseless but powering through. That is usually when the producer is at her most volatile. 

 

“Okay, we will get right on that.” Chloe and Emily turned to leave but Beca's voice froze them in their tracks. 

 

“It doesn't take both of you, Jesus! Legacy, get it done, I need to speak to Beale.” Beca snapped, not deigning to look up as she rubbed her forehead in frustration. The assistants shared a look before Emily scurried away. Chloe knew full well that the girl wasn't entirely sure as to what she was doing and what numbers Beca was referring to. She was pretty sure Beca knew that too. 

 

“She's scared of you, you know.” Chloe raised her eyebrow, part amused, part annoyed at how Beca was still treating people. “If you scare her away, you'll start to get a reputation.”

 

“She's far too eager.” Beca sighs and puts down her pen. “Do you like the flowers on your desk?” She asks and once again, Chloe sees something pass over her face that she can't quite put her finger on. 

 

“Emily sure does have some weird taste.” She laughs but the look on Beca’s face quickly turns into one of hurt. “Oh,” Chloe puts the pieces together and realises that the flowers are for her, from Beca. She feels the familiar annoyance at the woman flare up again. “You don't have to bribe me, Beca.” Chloe crosses her arms over her chest.

 

“Look, I just want you to know that I appreciate what you're doing for me.” Beca shrugs. She looks tiny in that moment and Chloe doesn't really know what to say. 

 

“You could perhaps start by treating your new assistant like an actual human being. You know, how you never treated me until I quit.” Chloe gives her a few seconds for the words to sink in before asking, “Is that all?” Beca nods wordlessly and Chloe leaves to help Emily with her task. She misses the look of complete self loathing that settles over Beca. 

 

\--- ooo ---

 

For the next few days, Chloe noticed that Beca was sulking. Everyone around the office was whispering that their fearless leader was slipping back into her snark that had plagued them all for the last few months. They had all enjoyed the breath of fresh air that had been her lightened mood for the last few days. 

 

There were a few instances that Chloe just couldn't understand. Her coworkers had commented on why she was the only person that Beca didn't snap at or glare at. She didn't really understand what they were talking about because Beca shouted at her constantly. Chloe tells them that it's just because she brings the producer her coffee and she knows which side her bread is buttered.

 

But towards the end of the second week, after Chloe has stopped bringing Beca's coffee, there were still people telling her the same things. Emily had even said something to Chloe about it in the break room one day. 

 

“Was there something there that you guys never told anyone about? Is that why you're really leaving?” The young girl had asked, getting more and more excited with the idea. 

 

“Where would you even get that idea from, Em?” Chloe had laughed and rolled her eyes. It was a crazy idea. She would never get involved with someone like Beca. The woman was a workaholic meanie. Not to mention her boss. 

 

“Well, it's just sometimes you look at her.” Emily shrugged, stirring her coffee. 

 

“Of course I look at her.” 

 

“No, I mean, you get this look. Kind of like Beca has when she looks at you.” She said. 

 

Chloe scoffed. Beca didn't have a look and neither did she. What a stupid idea. The girl was probably hyped up on caffeine all the time. 

 

Except Chloe couldn't help herself. She spent a week trying to catch this look that Beca apparently gave her, but came up blank. Beca was looking at her the way she always did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you so much for the support. Love you all :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Beca over compensates

Chloe does not expect the day to be at all different than any of the others. Beca is still unpredictable in her moods and Emily is getting more independent with every passing day. She is starting to think that she really isn’t needed around the office very much anymore. 

 

Except, the minute Chloe walks into the office, she thinks that maybe she has made some kind of effect. Her work here has meant something. It has been worth working her final two weeks through. 

 

You see, today is Chloe’s birthday. And for the last five years, no one had taken any notice of the day at all. But not today. Today, there are people coming up to her and wishing her a good day. They’re telling her that they should totally get a drink after work tonight. She agrees to it, chatting with everyone who takes time to see her. 

 

Chloe has no idea how all of these people found out, but she is kind of glad that they did. 

 

There is just one tiny little thing. 

 

Emily is late. She is always there before Chloe.

 

It doesn’t worry her at first. Everyone is late sometimes. But Emily’s lateness accompanied by Beca coming out of her office every five minutes and slamming the door when she goes back in is leaving a pretty strange feeling in the office, and Chloe doesn’t like it one bit. 

 

It's 9:15 am when Chloe texts Emily,  _ ‘Are you coming in today?’ _

 

\--- ooo ---

 

Beca is having a bad day. There is no particular reason why, but she woke up in a bad mood, and then when she got to work, her assistant couldn't even be bothered to show up. The girl that was so super eager to please all the damn time couldn't find it in herself to be where she is paid to be at the time she is paid to be there. 

 

To top everything off, every single time Beca leaves her office, Chloe is stood around talking to someone, or maybe even a little cluster of people. She seems to be having a whale of a time, even though she should know better by now. 

 

_ Just because she's leaving in two weeks, doesn't mean that she shouldn't care about her damn job. Where's my fucking coffee? _ Beca thinks to herself bitterly on the fourth time that she finds some excuse to leave her office. She has never gone to the photocopier more frequently in her life.

 

Eventually, Legacy deigns to turn up for her job and Beca can finally breathe a sigh of relief that they can all set about their days, finally. That is until she notices the present in Legacy’s hand and the big box on her arm. It isn’t so much that which bothers Beca, it’s the fact that she walks straight up to the woman and squeals ‘ _ Happy birthday, Chloe! _ ’.

 

Beca’s heart sinks in her chest as she watches the way that Chloe's face lights up as she opens her present. It's some red mug and it looks like there's an apple sat in the top of it. Beca hears Chloe read the caption on it,  _ ‘World's Greatest Teacher’ _ . There's a small crowd of people gathering around Beca's assistants when she returns to her office, grabs her bag, and slips out the front door. 

 

_ How the fuck didn't I know it was her birthday? _

 

\--- ooo ---

 

Chloe cannot believe Emily. Seriously. This girl is something else entirely, and Chloe is pretty sure they will be friends after her time at Synth is over. 

 

Only that girl would be cute enough to get Chloe a mug with an apple in it, screaming the words, ‘World's Greatest Teacher!’ It's perfect, and Chloe is touched that Emily remembered their conversation last week about what Chloe is going to do when she leaves. 

 

“You're so sneaky! How did you know?” Chloe questions Emily when the group around them begins to disband, pieces of cake in hand. 

 

“Well, I just kind of saw it on your records when you were showing me the files yesterday, so I just  _ had  _ to do something. That's why I'm late today.” The girl explain herself in one breath. “Beca didn't notice, did she? Is she mad?” 

 

“She's been moody and she's left her office more times than I think was really necessary. But you know what she's like.” Chloe placates her. 

 

“Well I feel like we should have made a much bigger deal out of your birthday, but since I only found out yesterday, this is the best I could do.” Emily gestures at the gift and cake.

 

“I love it, Em. Really.” Chloe assures the girl, then suggests that maybe they should start doing what they are being paid for. 

 

It takes an hour or two, but the women notice a distinct lack of their boss in the office. The last time Beca had been seen, she had been storming into her office earlier this morning after Emily had offered her a slice of cake. She had said nothing at all and disappeared, slamming the door in the process. 

 

Now, it’s just after lunch and both assistants are a little worried because the producer hasn’t surfaced or sent any form of correspondence to either of them. Chloe takes matters into her own hands, deciding to let herself into the office. When she looks around, there's no sign of Beca at all. She checks Beca’s studio, too, and she's not there either. Chloe tells Emily that this is a brilliant opportunity to get ahead with some of the things that they haven't been able to complete in the last few weeks. 

 

The day goes by and Chloe takes one last attempt to liase with her boss before the day is through. She goes to Beca's office right before she goes home. She doesn't knock, she just walks in because Beca hasn't been there all day, so why would she be there now.

 

.

 

“Oh, you're here?” Chloe is surprised to see Beca hunched over her desk. She looks up. Her brow furrows at the intrusion, ready to snap, but then she notices who it is. 

 

“Hey, Beale.” Beca says quietly.

 

“Are you alright? You haven't been around all day.” Chloe takes a step further into the office, her concern for Beca winning out over her desire to go home. The redhead still refuses to think about why that is. Chloe knows that she knows why. But allowing herself to think about it is another thing entirely. 

 

“It's your birthday.” It's a statement and Beca's tone, she feels, matches her mood. She feels as if she has let the woman in front of her down. Repeatedly. And although Beca loathes to admit it, she cares. 

 

“It is.” Chloe confirms. “Is there anything else I can do for you before I go? I have plans later.” 

 

“You worked for me for over five years, and I missed your birthdays. Every single one.” Beca ponders the thoughts that have been bothering her all day out loud. “Did you not feel like you could tell me? Or do you not care about it that much?” The producer holds her breath as she waits for the answer, as if Chloe’s next words will break the slump that she's been in all day. 

 

“I didn't really care, or at least, I didn't think anyone else did.” Chloe shrugs. “It's no big.” 

 

“Except it is, because I saw the look on your face this morning with Legacy.” Chloe doesn't offer anything else, she just stands there like she wants to say something but it won't pass her lips. They stay in a not quite awkward silence for a few moments until Beca stands and announces, “I have something for you.” She leans down to retrieve something out of her desk drawer, grabs her bag and gestures to the door. “You'll need to follow me though.” 

 

Everything about Beca's body language right now is awkward and unsure. Chloe thinks it's kind of cute that the producer is nervous about giving Chloe something, but as they move further through the building and she sees Beca hit the button for the parking lot, she worries a little.

 

“You're not going to kill me are you?” Chloe laughs to break the tension that has crept between them. 

 

“Oh, shit no! That's not,” Chloe giggles at Beca and the woman glares at her. “Cute.” 

 

“I try.” Beca hums and Chloe nudges her with her shoulder. Beca grins. The elevator dings and as she steps out of it, Beca starts panicking that Chloe won't like her gift. She tries to play it cool, but Beca hasn't bought anyone a gift in a long time for this exact reason. “Beca?” Her assistant questions as they walk deeper into the parking lot. 

 

“Hold on, it's not far.” Beca throws over her shoulder as she nears Chloe’s gift. 

 

“Becs?” 

 

“Ok, hold on. Stop right there a sec.” Beca walks back towards Chloe who was a couple of paces behind her. She steps behind the redhead and places her hands over Chloe's eyes. “Is this okay, you're not freaking out or anything?” Beca knows a couple people, herself included, that just would  _ not _ be comfortable with their eyes being covered.

 

“It's fine. You're freaking me out a little though. Why are we down here?” Chloe asks, her hands coming up a little in front of her body to make sure she doesn't bump into anything. Beca smiles because how can Chloe not have figured out what her gift is by now? It makes her feel a little more anxious about the surprise that she has spent all day on. She went out this morning and literally must have gone to fifteen dealerships to make sure that she got the perfect gift for her employee. 

 

“Start moving forward,” Beca presses her front against Chloe so that she can direct the girl better. The lot is almost empty at this point, but she's still pretty wary of cars coming and going. “Okay, stop here. Keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them.” Beca says softly into Chloe's hair. She thinks she feels the other woman shiver, but Beca just thinks it's wishful thinking. She removes her hands and runs to stand next to the gift, her arms outstretched. “Open your eyes!” 

 

The couple of seconds between Beca calling out to Chloe, and the girl opening her eyes, seem like the longest three seconds in history. Beca holds her breath as her heart pounds in her throat. 

 

“Ta-da!” Beca smiles as Chloe's mouth falls open. She stumbles towards her boss, unable to make sounds come out. “Do you like it?” Beca asks after what feels like forever. 

 

“Beca,” Chloe starts, grabbing onto one of Beca's outstretched arms to steady herself. “Beca, you got me a car?” Chloe stares in awe at the 2016 Jeep Wrangler gleaming at her in all its freshly polished glory. 

 

“Is that alright? I noticed your other one was a bit worse for wear when you picked me up that night.” Beca spews out, getting even more nervous at Chloe response. 

 

“I can't accept this. It's too much.” Chloe starts shaking her head and backing away from the vehicle. Beca catches her, pulling her back as she pulls the key out of her pocket. 

 

“Consider it one big gift for five years of missed gifts.” The producer unlocks the car and opens the driver’s door. “I knew that there was no way in hell that you would have accepted a brand new one, so this one is a few months old and the guy said that it has everything in it that you could need.” 

 

“Brand new or not, Becs, it's still a $25,000 car!” Chloe moves towards it and starts taking a look inside. It's really beautiful, and if she knew anything about cars, she would know that it's really not a $25,000 car. Because this car is the sports edition, top of the line car. Beca was not thinking about the money when she went out today. 

 

Her only thought was Chloe. 

 

“It's too much.” Chloe keeps mumbling as she wanders around the vehicle. “How did you even know that this was the car I wanted?”

 

“I would rather not reveal my sources.” Beca smirks, hoping to take that secret to the grave with her. “If it really is too much, I can return it. But I want you to have it, Beale. It doesn't sit well with me that you've been my assistant for a long time and I never even noticed it was your birthday. And I kind of think that this helps to make up for the crappy way I've treated you.” 

 

“You're sending me on vacation, that's enough.” She stops her exploration and turns to Beca. There are tears in Chloe's eyes, but she won't let them fall. 

 

“Not to me it isn't.” Beca looks down at her feet, her tone completely laced with self loathing. “Take it?” Beca holds the keys up to Chloe who, after a few seconds, takes them out of Beca's hand with a squeal of excitement. 

 

“Thank you, so much!” 

 

Beca stands and watches the woman's excitement. She watches Chloe get into the car, proclaiming its name as ‘Penelope, Penny for short’, which makes Beca cringe because a car  _ that _ badass is  _ not _ a ‘Penelope’. Beca watches as Chloe drives off, waving one arm out of her window with a promise to see her tomorrow. 

 

It's only once the sound of the car disappears and all Beca can hear is her own breathing, that she realises that her cheek is still radiating heat from where Chloe had kissed her after thanking her. Beca also realises that her heart is pounding in her chest while her head is telling her never to wash her cheek again. 

 

She shakes herself out of it; she's not some teenage boy pining after a celebrity crush. Beca  _ is _ the celebrity, dammit!

 

But it doesn't mean that Beca doesn't feel Chloe's lips for the next week. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed this... There is something coming...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry this has taken so long guys. Im not going to make excuses (You will have seen them if you follow me on Tumblr)  
> Hope you all enjoy this

When Chloe walks into the office to begin her final week at Synth Records, she is hit with a completely staggering sense of nostalgia. Chloe has a lot of great memories here, along with a lot of bad ones. Fortunately, the good ones outweigh the bad ones. It’s time to move on, however. Chloe needs to pursue the things that she has always wanted to do. 

 

So when Emily comes to work, Chloe informs the girl that she will be taking the reigns this week with minimal input from Chloe. Emily is adamant that she won’t be able to do it, but Chloe has complete faith in the girl. 

 

However, with Emily taking over all of the work, Chloe finds herself with little to nothing to do. As she expected, Emily barely calls on her, and when she does , it is only for tiny things like where new ink for the printer is kept, or what the password is for one of the systems. 

 

Chloe goes into Beca's office to drop off a stack of paperwork to find the producer sat back in her chair, throwing a ball up in the air and catching it over and over again. 

 

“Super productive use of your time there, Mitchell,” she jibes, but Beca barely spares her a glance. 

 

“Whatever, Beale.” A smile tugs at the edge of her lips, so Chloe doesn't take it too personally. 

 

“Don't you have something that you need to be producing right now? Isn't that what a producer does?” Chloe asks, taking a seat on the couch along the back wall of Beca's office. 

 

“I'm in a bit of a rut right now.” Beca admits, her brow furrowing and she finally drops the ball down onto her desk. 

 

“Well do you want some company?” Chloe offers, “I set Emily off on her own this week so I am finding that I have very little to do.” 

 

“I could think of worse people to hang out with.” Beca flashes Chloe a quick smile and the redhead feels her heart stutter around in her chest.

 

So Chloe spends the first day of her last week hanging out with Beca in her office. The producer orders lunch for both of them and they made idle small talk. 

 

The next day, the same thing happens, this time with conversation, rather than pleasantries. 

 

By the third day, Chloe finds herself in the producer’s office before Beca arrives for work. She lays out on the couch after checking that Beca has no important meetings and waits for Beca's arrival. 

 

“You're making a habit of this, Beale,” Beca remarks when she enters her office. 

 

“Well, just be thankful that you don't have to put up with it for too long.” Chloe snipes back. Beca doesn't say anything. She just sits down behind her desk and starts doing things on her computer. Her expression is completely blank. She isn’t even doing the thing with her eyebrows that Chloe has come to think of as completely adorable. The soon to be ex-assistant can’t help but think that it’s because of what she said. 

 

They sit in near silence for the first part of the day. Beca doesn’t offer conversation, and neither does Chloe. But Beca also doesn’t try and kick her out. 

 

“Do you want some lunch?” Beca breaks the silence eventually, her bag over her shoulder looking down at Chloe with one hand on her office door. “I want a bit of a break so I thought I’d walk to pick it up.” 

 

“Oh, yeah sure.” 

 

“Do you want me to just ask them to leave out the peppers and onions today? Or do you like pushing them around your plate?” Beca tries to crack a joke but Chloe can feel awkwardness rolling off of the girl. 

 

_ She's trying. _ Chloe reminds herself and feels well and truly touched. 

 

“If that's not too annoying?” Chloe sits up to look at Beca who nods in acknowledgment of her preference. “Do you want some company on your walk?” She offers, holding out an olive branch. 

 

“Honestly, it's nothing personal but I'm really in my head right now. I kind of just want twenty minutes to myself.” Beca explains carefully, trying not to offend Chloe with her rejection. 

 

“I don't have to hang out in here if you don't want me to.” Chloe gets up to leave but Beca puts her hands out to stop her.

 

“No, I like the company. I don't explain myself very well sometimes, but I'm serious, it's nothing personal.” The producer stands there playing with the strap on her bag, waiting to see if her explanation was alright with the woman in front of her and Chloe thinks that it is probably the cutest sight she has seen in awhile. It’s a pleasant change seeing Beca without her facade. Chloe smiles in what she hopes is a reassuring way, and sits back down. “I'll see you in a bit?” 

 

“Sure.” Beca smiles back at her and Chloe ignores the warmth that spreads over her chest. The producer leaves, but not without one last glance back at Chloe. It’s a look that Chloe only knows how to describe with one word. A word that she’s scared to use because of exactly what it means. A word that Chloe knows when she accepts it, she will be forced to accept all of the other things that she has been pushing away for a while now. 

 

It is a look of  _ longing _ . 

 

So while Beca is out of the office, Chloe sits there, reeling in every interaction that the pair had had over the last month. Every smile, every glance, every time they had snapped at each other, and every time they had resolved it. 

 

Chloe sits there and finally admits to herself in the dim light of Beca's office the one thing that she has been denying herself, she realises, for over a year. 

 

The reason for the warmth that spreads throughout her as a result of anything Beca does. The underlying reason for all of her anger towards the other woman. The reason why she finally snapped and  _ had  _ to leave this job. 

 

It has very little to do with Beca's attitude. Sure, it’s annoying as hell and hurts Chloe regularly, but it’s a well paying job and there are people in the world that have it so much worse than she does. So she got shouted at occasionally. So her efforts were just brushed off most of the time. At least she wasn't being underpaid. At least she wasn't being harassed by some skeez. 

 

Chloe takes a sharp breath as all her emotions seem to hit her square in the chest, all at once. 

 

She’s falling in love with Beca Mitchell. 

 

Chloe cries. Her head falls into her hands, elbows resting on her knees. She cries, overwhelmed by the feelings hitting her chest one after the other and the sudden clarity that comes along with it. 

 

**\-- ooo ---**

 

When Beca wakes up on Thursday, it takes her longer than usual to convince herself to get up and face the day. Every day this past week has been the same really. She knows why. She does. But she will only allow the thought to rattle around in her head. There's no way you could get her to say it out loud just yet. 

 

She tries not to let her sullen mood infect the studio. Beca has been trying lately to have more patience with everyone and to be the boss she’s always wanted to be. She's not sure when she turned into such a tyrant, but Beca is determined to at least make an effort to start stepping in the right direction. 

 

So when Beca walks into the office that morning, and Emily hands her a coffee, Beca smiles and thanks her before scurrying off into her office. Beca hopes that Chloe will already be there.

 

She is, and Beca's smile grows. 

 

“Good morning, Boss.” Chloe greets, looking up from her laptop.

 

“You're not going to be able to call me, ‘Boss’ much longer.” Beca makes a conscious effort to keep her tone light, ignoring the stabbing pain in her chest. It's her own fault, but it doesn't make it any less shitty. 

 

“I guess not. I’ll just have to think of something else to call you, then.” Chloe quips and Beca almost misses her chair as she goes to sit down, not letting her hopes get too high that she will see much of Chloe once she leaves.  

 

Chloe is special. She always has been. And if Beca is really honest with herself, she started being a bitch all those years ago because she didn't want to deal with her feelings for Chloe. Now, bitchiness has become her standard state of being and she’s not proud of that fact.

 

“So are you planning your vacation?” Beca gestures towards the laptop. 

 

“Yeah, I have no idea where I want to go.” Chloe shrugs. 

 

“Just pick anywhere.” The producer turns on her computer, intent on getting some actual work done today instead of pretending to look busy as she thinks about the woman who has kept her company all week. 

 

“Well, where would you want to go if you had the chance?” Chloe brings her finger up to her mouth and nibbles on it as she uses the other hand to operate the trackpad. 

 

“That's not the point,” Beca brushes off. She's never really been all too interested in traveling. It's not like she really has anyone to go with anyway and it's not the kind of thing Beca would do alone. 

 

“I'm asking because I'm interested.” Chloe insists and Beca thinks about it. 

 

“There are these huts that stand over the Caribbean Ocean. They're pretty phenomenal and peaceful. I can just imagine sitting out there, watching the ocean. Just me and my music.” Beca hears typing and figures that Chloe is looking it up. 

 

“Wow. It looks amazing, Beca.” Chloe stares at her screen, her mouth hanging open a little and Beca coos internally. “That's totally where I want to go. I could spend weeks there and never get bored.” 

 

“Book it, then. You know what the company details are.” Beca looks up from her emails, a slight frown because of what her schedule is starting to look like for next week. There are a few more clicks and Chloe gasps, making Beca look at her again. “What?” 

 

“It's over $3000 per night!” Chloe smashes some buttons furiously and Beca laughs. Money hasn't been a problem for her for a few years. She still lives pretty modestly, her only actual indulgences are her car and her mixing equipment. 

 

Beca gets up and sits next to Chloe, pulls the other woman's laptop onto her lap and brings the tabs up again. She puts the details in, setting up a two week stay with the top package. Chloe would be treated like a queen during her stay there. Beca asks Chloe for her email address so that they can send the booking confirmation through to her, and the redhead just stutters out her information. 

 

“There. A month from today, you will be sunning it up in St. Lucia.” Beca smirks as she hands Chloe her laptop back. 

 

“It's too much.” 

 

“I told you, it means a lot to me that you came back for this month.” Beca stands up abruptly, not really wanting to dwell, but it seems her mouth isn't cooperating with her brain as she moves back to her desk. “Is there nothing I can do to get you to stay?” She asks.

 

“You have Emily now.” Chloe starts, shaking her head. “You don't need me around here anymore.” 

 

“I'll create a job for you. Name your salary, anything.” Beca tries, flopping herself down at her desk again. “Really, Beale.” 

 

“I can't, Becs. It's time for me to move on and pursue what I really want to do.” Chloe refuses, her tone telling Beca that this is the last she wants to hear about it. Beca sighs and changes the subject, half of her attention on the conversation and half of it on her emails. 

 

**\-- ooo --**

 

Chloe tries not to notice Beca's even worse mood on her last day. Well, it's not so much a worse mood, but a strange mood. The producer has been refusing to look at Chloe and is trying to make up for it by making small talk. It's just not right because Chloe and Beca have been engaging in actual conversation all week and Chloe has actually come to enjoy talking to the woman. Now it seems almost formal. 

 

Chloe lets it go on until they have finished their lunch. There are only so many awkward silences she can take. 

 

“Okay, enough.” She announces when she gets up to put her take out container in the trash. “What the heck is wrong with you today?”

 

“What do you mean, Beale?” Beca balls up her burger wrapper and throws it at the bin. It goes in straight away and she smirks.

 

“Nice shot. Stop avoiding.” Chloe deadpans. 

 

Beca is quiet for a few minutes and Chloe gives the producer the time that she needs to gather her thoughts or whatever. Beca taps her pen on the desk in front of her and twirls in her chair, knowing that Chloe is going to make her face this. She takes a deep breath, turns to Chloe, plants her feet flat on the floor, and opens her mouth. 

 

“I don't want this to be the last time we see each other.” Beca admits quietly. “Like, I know I have been pretty shitty to you and it took you quitting to kick my ass enough to start trying to change things, but I think we have become friends.” Chloe can't help the grin that spreads across her face. 

 

“Of course this won't be the last time we see each other, silly.” The redhead throws her pen at her soon to be former boss’ head. 

 

“Well, maybe you want to go grab some drinks tonight? To like, celebrate your time here or whatever.” Beca offers and tells Chloe that she should invite some of the people they work with as well. Chloe beams at the offer and happily accepts. A few of her co-workers had already started talking about going for drinks, so Chloe told Beca where they had already arranged to meet up. 

 

When five eventually rolls around, Chloe is reluctant to leave. She sighs as she packs her bag, trying to ignore Emily hovering somewhere behind her. The sniffling coming from the other girl will probably start Chloe off crying and she promised herself that she wouldn't. 

 

“You all set?” Emily asks when Chloe swings her bag onto her shoulder.

 

“I think so. If you find anything of mine then just put it to one side.” Chloe gestures her hand. “I'm sure I’ll drop by at some point.” The redhead smiles a little to herself, briefly thinking about her growing friendship with Beca. 

 

“I don't think I can do this without you, Chloe.” Emily says to her hands, playing with a tissue. Chloe swallows the lump in her throat before she turns and gives her full attention to Emily, taking her hand. 

 

“I have total faith in you, Em. Beca really isn't that bad.” Chloe laughs to try to cheer the other woman up a little. “If you need anything at all though, you've got my number, right?” Emily gives a teary nod, and Chloe pulls her in for a hug before the other girl can set her off. 

 

Most of the people in the office have already left at this point. As they had trickled out, many of them bid Chloe farewell and some confirmed their plans for the night. Chloe was kind of glad. She didn't want to make a big deal of things and she knew that she would probably break down tonight once she had a few shots in her system. 

 

-o-o-o-

 

Before too much longer, Chloe is in some club with music vibrating through her chest. She has done several shots with her coworkers and has consumed two additional cocktails. A few of her friends have gone home, others have split away. Beca, however, remains by Chloe's side. 

 

“Becs!” She shouts into the producer's ear as she hands her former boss another drink. “You've got to dance with me!” 

 

“I don't really think that was part of the deal, Beale.” Beca takes the drink and sips on it, hiding a smirk. Of course she will dance with Chloe, but there is no way that Beca will just dive right into it. Beca doesn't dance much anymore, not since her college days. The DJ booth doesn't really count. 

 

“Awh, Beca.” Chloe pouts. She honest to God pouts and Beca hates the little flutter in her chest at the expression. The girl tugs on her arm and Beca just about has time to put her glass down before she finds herself surrounded by people all moving as one to the beat. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Chloe laughs at her which only makes Beca smile before she reluctantly starts swaying her hips. 

 

Chloe must admit that even in her current drunken state, she's pretty impressed with the way Beca moves. It's like the music just flows through her, right to her very core; eyes closed, arms sometimes in the air, other times moving over her body, simply feeling it. Chloe can’t help herself when she reaches out and slings her arms over the shorter woman’s shoulders. 

 

Beca opens her eyes and grins, her own hands moving to Chloe’s hips and pulling her tight against her. She rolls her hips slowly across the beat, moving Chloe with her. It’s pretty satisfying to watch the former employee’s eyes flutter briefly before Chloe is right back there with her, giving as good as she’s getting. 

 

Both women leave occasionally and come back with drinks, but otherwise spend the entire night on the dancefloor. Chloe is dimly aware of the fact that she shouldn't be dancing with Beca like this; they’re barely just friends. It isn’t appropriate. But as the heat builds within the club, Chloe cares less and less. 

 

Around the time that Beca starts dancing behind Chloe, firm pressure ensuring that their bodies are tight together with a protective arm around her waist and lips, breathing hard against her neck, that’s when things start to get hazy...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come follow me on Tumblr, scream at me about these two idiots.   
> Hopefully it wont be as long in between updates this time. Aiming for two weeks..


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY! Its been a while. But. Heres a new chapter. Hope you all enjoy

When Chloe wakes up that morning, she is aware of two things.

 

She is hungover, and there is someone next to her. 

 

The last thing that Chloe can remember about the night before, is that she was dancing with Beca. No, she wasn't just dancing with Beca; they were practically dry humping each other in the middle of the club that they had gone to. Chloe cringes a little awkwardly at the thought, remembering lips ghosting along her shoulder, warm breath tickling her ear. She had totally enjoyed the attention that her now-former boss had been doting on her.

 

_ There is no way in hell that you slept with Beca Mitchell last night! _

 

Chloe starts to panic, finally allowing one eye to open and take in her surroundings. She squints, the morning light streaming through the gap in the curtains is enough to make her head pound. Chloe recognises the room. She takes that as some kind of bonus, even though it isn't her room. It's Beca's. So that means… as she rolls over, that means that the body next to her should be…

 

Beca groans and rolls onto her back. 

 

Chloe isn't sure if she is relieved or even more panicked when she notices that Beca is in a bra. The covers are pulled up to just below her belly button, so Chloe can't tell whether or not she is wearing anything else. The idea slowly creeps into Chloe's mind that she can quickly solve the riddle of whether she slept with her former boss or not, by checking her own state of undress. She knows that she, too, is wearing a bra, but her bottom half is still a mystery. It  _ feels _ like she isn't wearing anything, and Chloe  _ knows _ that she wore a dress to the club last night. Logic leads her to believe that surely, if her top half is almost bare, then her bottom half should be, too. 

 

The thing is, though, she doesn't feel the telltale pinch of the elastic from her panties that she usually does when she wears them to bed. It's one of the reasons why she usually sleeps nude. 

 

Chloe takes a deep breath. She knows she's freaking out a little bit. Deciding to bite the bullet, Chloe lifts the covers, careful not to disturb Beca, and finds that she's wearing a pair of light sleep shorts.

 

Chloe lets out a sigh of relief, and while her worries about sleeping with Beca aren't completely gone, they die down a little. There's too much soreness in her muscles to have just been from dancing all night. She's not  _ that  _ out of shape… right?

 

It's not too much longer before Chloe decides that she isn't just going to lay here and wait for Beca to wake up. She gets up out of her former boss’ bed and pads down to her kitchen. Chloe prepares herself for the fridge to be empty, or at the worst, for everything in there to be rotten. However, to her surprise, Beca’s fridge is fully stocked, and everything that Chloe picks up seems to be in date. 

 

_ Emily must have found some time to stock Beca up for the weekend. _

 

It's a nice surprise, so Chloe is pretty enthused to start working on breakfast right away, already knowing the routine from years of putting up with Beca. It's a nice change, however, to do it because she wants to instead of it being part of her job.

 

It's about ten minutes later and Chloe is getting out plates to put the pancakes on and searching for some fruit to slice up, when she hears the padding of socked feet coming up the corridor. 

 

“Awh, Beale, you're making me breakfast. Old habits die hard, right?” Beca teases. Chloe shoots her a glare over her shoulder as the shorter girl comes around to the other side of the breakfast bar and takes a seat. “I got the Advil you left out for me. Thank you.” She says a little sheepishly. 

 

“No problem.” Chloe slides a plate and a mug of coffee in front of her former boss who groans her appreciation. 

 

“Oh my gosh, you are my hero. Please tell me that you are suffering just as much as I am?” Beca takes a large gulp from her mug and picks up her cutlery, turning a little more pale at the thought of having to stomach anything. She will force herself though, because Chloe went through so much trouble. 

 

“I can't recover from a night of drinking the way I did in college.” Chloe admits ruefully. 

 

“I'll slowly sip my coffee to that.” Beca laughs, holding up her mug in a mock toast. Chloe can’t help but laugh with her for a few seconds despite the pounding in her head. 

 

“Look, I have to ask, Becs,” Chloe starts in a wave of courage, cutting through the lightness of the moment straight away with her serious tone. “We didn't sleep together last night, did we?”

 

“Well, we woke up in the same bed so I think it's pretty obvious. Don't you?” Beca shrugs, forking a mouthful of pancakes and chewing slowly. 

 

“And it means that little to you?” Chloe is incredulous. Beca  _ has _ to be teasing her. Chloe doesn’t want things to be awkward between her and Beca, but her former boss’ attitude towards them sleeping together, just brushing it off entirely, is incredibly degrading. 

 

“These kinds of things happen all the time.” The brunette says between mouthfuls. 

 

“Not to me they don't.” Chloe spits, putting her empty plate into the sink a little harder than she meant to. She regrets it instantly, cringing at the noise and the pain in her head that follows. It almost beats out the pain she feels in chest.

 

“You never share a bed with your friends?” Chloe looks at Beca who is blinking innocently at her. “Also, you're getting pretty mad for someone who doesn't remember being a pretty forceful little spoon. Did sleeping in the same bed as me really mean that much to you, Beale?” Beca winks and Chloe sags against the counter top, unbelievably grateful for the fact that Beca's hungover brain seems to be a heck of a lot less sharp than her normally functioning brain. 

 

“Just forget I said anything. I'm hungover.” Chloe waves her hand, trying desperately to ignore the embarrassment blossoming through her, and takes Beca's plate from in front of her when she is finished. It's just in time for the producer to fall onto her breakfast bar head first. 

 

“Want to have a couch and TV day?” Beca mumbles into the counter.

 

“Don't wanna suffer alone?” Chloe pushes Beca's arm, earning herself a grumbled protest. “You go get the blankets and TV set up, and I’ll clean up in here.” Chloe offers. Beca looks up at her, a small smile on her face. 

 

“Since when do you get to give me orders, Beale?” The light tone is obvious, even as Beca walks away, and Chloe does her best to ignore the pounding in her chest. 

 

\---

 

For the second time in a day, Chloe wonders how she got into this position. With Beca's head in her lap, her fingers in the producer’s hair, and an easy smile on her lips. 

 

“You've got to be blind, Beale.” Beca huffs, turning onto her back to look up at the other woman, pausing the TV in the process. 

 

“I just don't see it.” Chloe shrugs, laying her arms out over both sides of Beca's corner couch. 

 

“How can you not? Lena Luthor totally has a thing for Kara Danvers.” The brunette gestures wildly at the screen. 

 

“I'll take your word for it, Mitchell.” Chloe totally sees, she just likes winding Beca up about it. “Plus, Lena doesn't even realise that Kara is Supergirl. I mean, come on, it's a pair of glasses and a ponytail.” Chloe scoffs for good measure. 

 

“Oh she so does. I mean, she's just playing along at the moment.” Beca insists. Chloe hums noncommittally in response, returning a hand to Beca's hair.

 

“I’d totally bang Lena though.” Chloe admits, not taking her eyes off of the screen where it is paused on Lena stood at the window of her office in in a red dress after some idiot left her. Chloe cannot comprehend why someone would bail on making out with Lena Luthor, but whatever. She supposes that being made of nanobots will make anyone a little crazy. 

 

“I think we would clash too much. I wouldn't say no to Kara.” Beca turns back onto her side, her arm wrapping itself around Chloe's leg, forcing them to part a little. Chloe looks down and raises her eyebrow. 

 

“Kara, or Supergirl?” Chloe asks for clarification.

 

“Kara for a long standing thing, Supergirl for a friends with benefits type deal.” Chloe feels Beca nod against her thigh. “Like if you were to separate the two, I can imagine things would get super hot and steamy with Supergirl. Like that freeze breath and super speed, I could totally get down with that.” 

 

“Oh really, so you’re into things getting down and dirty?” Chloe pokes at Beca's shoulder. 

 

“Everyone has kinks.” Beca grumbles and Chloe can't help but laugh a little. “Don't kink shame me, Beale.” Her voice rises just a little and Chloe is almost positive that she's blushing.

 

“I'm not, you're just being cute.” As soon as the word passes Chloe's lips, she claps her mouth shut and holds her breath, waiting to see how Beca will react. 

 

“Whatever.” She huffs again and pinches Chloe's leg. “Just shut up and watch these two idiots fall in love with each other.” Beca unpauses the show and the pair fall into an easy silence. Chloe finally releases the breath that she has been holding in. 

 

“Wanna order a late lunch?” Chloe asks on the edge of a laugh.

 

“Shh, once this is over I'll make something.” Chloe smiles and wriggles further down on the couch, forcing Beca to adjust her position and lay her head on Chloe's stomach. 

 

\--

 

Beca, Chloe learns, is actually a pretty good cook. 

 

She sits on a stool and watches as Beca confidently moves around her kitchen like a natural. Like she hadn't constantly lived with no food in her fridge and her freezer stocked with ready meals. The producer hums along with the song playing on the radio, all signs of her hangover seemingly gone. Chloe must admit that she feels a lot better now, too. What she won't admit to, however, is looking a little too long when Beca turns her back to get something from the fridge.

 

They eat with minimal chatter. Chloe spends a little time bickering with Beca over the state of her cooking skills until Chloe finally relents that she has definitely eaten worse. Their shoulders bump a couple of times, and if Beca notices that Chloe is sitting a little closer than is actually comfortable on Beca's bar stools, the brunette doesn't say anything. 

 

Their closeness continues as Beca walks Chloe out. Chloe lingers by the door, thanking Beca for her company through the day. Beca brushes it off.

 

“Best hangover day I've had yet.” Beca admits, and Chloe knows that almost every Saturday is a hangover day for Beca. 

 

“I'll see you again before I go, right?” Chloe asks, leaning against the open front door when she hears the taxi pull up. 

 

“Sure. Just text me and we’ll set something up.” Beca's smile is probably the widest that Chloe has ever seen and she can't help herself. She doesn't realise how close she is to Beca until she can feel the warm tickle of breath against her cheek. Chloe bites her lip as Beca looks from her lips to her eyes.

 

The taxi beeps it's horn. Chloe hums as she pulls back. 

 

“See you later, Becs.” Chloe tries to make her voice sound as if nothing had just happened, but she's pretty sure she failed miserably. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, and feel free to come talk to me (and pester me for updates) on Tumblr!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed. I have the next two chapters already written so hopefully this should get updated pretty quickly. Let me know what you think?


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